


The Way the Sunlight Hits

by PerfidiousFate



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Multi, V-Shaped Threesome, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 08:36:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14828970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfidiousFate/pseuds/PerfidiousFate
Summary: Peko adjusts to life after Hope's Peak, and the fact that her boyfriend and girlfriend are the heirs of the biggest yakuza family in the country. Strangely, life is fairly decent.





	The Way the Sunlight Hits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Inkyrius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/gifts).



> Peko, Fuyuhiko and Natsumi navigating the yakuza business together is something that deserves hundreds of thousands of words. Alas, I had only limited time - still, I did the best I could! Thank you for the lovely prompts, and in fact, prompting for Natsumi/Peko/Fuyuhiko in the first place :) It's something I didn't know I wanted, but makes a perfect amount of sense, and I really loved writing out how their relationship would go. I hope you enjoy! <3

Graduation is a blur.

It seemed like it was forever in coming, and then suddenly it was two weeks away and much too close. The last few days were spent in a haze, as everyone did their best to make as many memories as possible. There was a bittersweet mood hanging over them all.

On the day itself, it hardly seems real. They graduate in front of a bunch of media, with the headmaster giving a long speech and handing each of them their diplomas in front of a cheering crowd. The afterparty is emotional, too – more than a few people start crying, whether they'd admit it or not.

Peko finds herself overwhelmed by it all. It’s – she’s always has the young master and Natsumi, but this is more. These are – her friends too. She’s close to people Fuyuhiko isn’t as close to, and vice versa. And it doesn’t feel weird, it doesn’t feel _wrong_ , it doesn’t feel like she’s failing him for making connections, it feels…okay. Right. Like she’s her own person with her own thoughts and feelings and relationships. Just like Fuyuhiko and Natsumi keep trying to tell her.

It makes her a little sad. She truly cares for these people, but after school, she and Fuyuhiko are going to invest all their energy in the clan. She doesn't need anybody other than him or Natsumi, truly, but she will miss the sweet, silly warmth of her school years. It's something she could never have predicted, when she first got accepted, but it's something that will never be replaced.

Ibuki hugs her a lot, wailing about how much she’ll miss Peko’s cool manner and that Peko had better show up to her concerts! Mahiru takes a picture of her half-smiling, and insists it’s one of the best ones she’s ever taken. Chiaki solemnly presents her with a small stack of games that she promises Peko will enjoy. Sonia smiles that sweet smile and makes her promise that she’d come to Novoselic one day and participate in their yearly tournament, although Peko’s unclear on whether she’ll be fighting humans or some sort of Makongo creature.

Natsumi shows up halfway through the party and spends the entire time flirting aggressively with Peko, even going so far as to stick her tongue in her mouth, while staring at Mahiru as if challenging her. Mahiru just rolls her eyes at her, and snaps a picture of them together. Fuyuhiko has to come over and rescue Peko from Natsumi’s weird power play, and when he puts his arm around her waist Ibuki freaks out over the fact that they were dating??? For how long?! How could they keep it a secret?!? She somehow draws half the class in, although nobody has as strong a reaction as her.

Smiling is still hard for Peko, but her mouth itches with it, and she finds herself doing it a lot, awkward little half-smiles.

Still, the very best part is when Gundham comes up to her and – with his usual aplomb, gesturing wildly – offers her a _bunny rabbit._ One he specifically points out is fearless, and immune to her “dark aura”. The rabbit is black and white and its nose twitches cutely, and it’s so, so fluffy when she tentatively runs her fingers through its fur, that Peko smiles, really really really smiles, for the first time since she was a child.

The rabbit, of course, becomes both Fuyuhiko’s and Natsumi’s arch-enemy. But it’s worth it. She’s dating two people who mean the world to her, she has friends, and she has a _fluffy bunny_. Peko is the happiest she’d ever been.

* * *

Life after Hope’s Peak is…strange.

It’s not like Fuyuhiko or Peko ever stopped taking their duties seriously, even while they were at school. The clan was always in Fuyuhiko’s thoughts, and he was always in Peko’s. But their brief time in high school was – liberating. They could be normal kids. Not just a master and his tool.

But after they graduate, it doesn’t take long for the Kuzuryuu name to consume them. They move back into the clan compound permanently, instead of just for the holidays. There’s always a lot of people around, which isn’t all that different from Hope’s Peak. But unlike in Hope’s Peak, where she’s liable to be ambushed by a sleepover or an impromptu video game tournament or one of Nekomaru and Akane’s matches, here she gets nods, or requests for her skills. It’s the same as before she left, but it feels strange, now that she knows how ordinary people live. It feels cold.

Fuyuhiko gets the worse of it. His father is still alive, so he’s not the boss yet – won’t be the boss for a longtime if his father’s bodyguard has anything to say about it, and Peko has a great respect for her and the weight of her words and sword – but he will be, at some point. And now that he’s eighteen, he gets more respect. And more responsibility. He spends long days in meetings and trailing around various lieutenants, and evenings playing cards and doing his best to show them all that he can lead them.

He gets his tattoos in the traditional irezumi manner, the painful one rather than the easier, modern version. Peko protests – she has that right now, she’s his girlfriend, not his tool, she _does_ – but he shrugs her off.

“It’s something I have to do,” he insists, frowning. “I gotta prove my worth. My father’s done it the traditional way, too. I can take it.” Then his face softens, and he grabs her hand and kisses her fingertips. His mouth feels like sunlight on her skin. “But…thanks for looking out for me, Peko. For my entire fucking life. I don’t say it enough.” He’s blushing.

Peko ducks her head. “It’s my – ” duty, she almost says, but she’s trying to say it less now, so instead she says, “Pleasure,” and then she leans down and kisses him and tastes sunlight on her lips, too.

And after the tattoos are done, and healed, Fuyuhiko shows them to her. “Pretty good, huh?” he says, smirking. “Hurt like a bitch, but it came out great. What do you think, Peko?” And she leans down and traces the design, a dragon, with her lips. Fuyuhiko tastes the same as he always did, and sounds the same as he makes tiny noises with his throat.  

* * *

 

The problem is that some people still don't believe in Fuyuhiko.

He's not the same boy he was when he was a child - he's angrier, and stormier, and he doesn't back down. Peko misses the way he used to be, sometimes, but she'd changed too, and she knows that he really is a good, kind person deep down. She loves him, no matter what. But now he holds his head up high and snarls, and acts every bit the yakuza leader that he's molded himself to be.

It's not enough for some people.

Natsumi is strong-willed, and vicious when she wants to be. She's a terror. She walked into her class at Hope's Peak and called them all 'trash' during her introduction; that's the kind of person she is. Maybe it's the cost of growing up as a second child, and as a girl, in the yakuza. Peko had her sword and a singularity of purpose; Natsumi had to carve her own way. And she did so with flair.

She only ever shows her vulnerable side to Peko and Fuyuhiko. Her silly, playful side with them both. Her softer, emotional side with Peko only.

"I  _hate_ this," she would say, softly, her arms around her knees. They'd be in Natsumi's dorm room, Sunday afternoon, and the sun lit up the particles in the air. They looked as if they were dancing. "I hate being in the Reserve Course, I hate not having a talent. I'm the Ultimate Little Sister! How come my brother gets to be the Ultimate Yakuza and you get to be the Ultimate Swordswoman and i get to be - get to be nothing?!" She blinks back tears, lets out an angry snarl.

"You're not nothing," Peko would tell her, move closer. Run her fingers through her hair. "You're my entire world. You and young master."

Natsumi's lips would twist downwards. "And that's not fair either," she would say. "It was a dumbass move, to make you my brother's bodyguard since you were a baby. When he becomes the boss, I'm making sure it never happens again. God, you got real messed up because of it, didn't you?"

Peko would frown. "I wouldn't say that," she'd say, reprimanding, but at this point Natsumi would laugh and then roll on top of her.

"It's okay. You're my girlfriend now, and my brother's, and we'll make sure to remind you that you're our world, too."

And Peko would heat up all over again.

* * *

 

It all comes to a head one day at a meeting of the top-level officials.

"We submit," says the third in command, a man with a missing eye and a sharp, calculating gaze, "That when the boss retires, his daughter, Kuzuryu Natsumi, will become the head of the Kuzuryu clan." 

Fuyuhiko tenses. Peko is behind him, and she can read it in his shoulder. "Oh, yeah?" he says, challenge in his tone. "Who's we?" 

His parents exchange glances, but remain silent. They want to see how this plays out.

Natsumi doesn't. She slams her hands down and stands up. "I refuse," she says. "My brother is the rightful heir of the clan, and I will kick the ass of anyone who says otherwise." Her voice echoes around the room.

The third in command bows his head to her, then turns to Fuyuhiko. "We shall continue this discussion later." His eyes are shrewd.

They don't ever continue that discussion. There's a short, brutal campaign. Peko has to sully her blade several times before it's over, by people coming to take out Fuyuhiko. In the end, she has to take out the third lieutenant as well. He fights well, before he dies, and she sighs at the end of it. The Kuzuryu clan has several long, painful months ahead of them, as they quash the rest of the rebellion. It happens, when your clan is as large as theirs. For all that they were a family, change scared them all. And the yakuza are not ones to be particularly impressed by the hope an Ultimate Talent promised. 

Later that night, as she goes back to Fuyuhiko -  or early in the morning, since the sun is just beginning to rise, chasing the shadows from the compound - she finds Fuyuhiko waiting up for her, worrying the sheets in his hands.

"God, Peko," he says, his face slackening in relief when he sees her, "Shit, I'm so glad you're okay. You are okay, right?" He glances her over, sees the bandages she'd tied around her upper arm. " _Fuck_."

"It is not a serious wound," she assures him. She sits down on the bed next to him, her sore muscles aching in relief, and leans up against him. He's warm against her side. "The deed is done." She'd liked him. The third lieutenant. But not as much as she liked Fuyuhiko. Her eyes burn.

"Damn." Fuyuhiko turns to hug her, something she's felt a thousand times since childhood, but feels just as new every single time. "Listen. I promise you won't have to do that bullshit anymore, okay?" His eyes are fierce. "You're not my fucking hitman anymore. You're my girlfriend."

"I just want you to be safe."

"Trust me when I say I'm safest by your side." And Fuyuhiko squeezes her closer, and closer, and they lay there together as the sun dawns, and melts away the ice in Peko's heart.

* * *

 

Natsumi, when she graduates - and she was a _nightmare_ in the year between their graduation and hers, texting them both at all hours of day and night and demanding they drive up to visit her every single weekend - is the one who ends up going out to throw the Kuzuryu name around. She’s still all haughty smirks and aggression, and Fuyuhiko is busy managing the entire clan, making sure everything fits together. So it’s only natural that Natsumi volunteers for the role.

“What?” Fuyuhiko said, when she first brought it up. He was busy glaring down at some report his father’s lieutenant had sent him. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Just take Peko with you, okay? Shit’s not safe.”

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter!” Natsumi snapped.

At the same time that Peko protested, “But, young master – Fuyuhiko – my main duty is to ensure your protection – ” Oh no, she said ‘duty’ again. Her mouth closed. Fuyuhiko scowled harder.

Meanwhile, Natsumi changed her tune fast. “Oh? Does this mean you don’t want to spend some time with me?” She smirked. Stepped closer. There was no real offense there – she was merely teasing – but Peko felt her cheeks turning red anyway.

“I didn’t mean – ” she started, but then Natsumi was laughing and leaning in to kiss her, and her entire world narrowed. When she came to, Natsumi was still grinning, but her cheeks were pink, and Fuyuhiko was rolling his eyes fondly at them from behind his desk.

“Yeah, yeah, go on now,” he said, waving them on. “I'll look after the fucking rabbit. And don’t blow anything up!”

“No promises!” Natsumi sung out at him, and then she was grabbing Peko’s hand and dragging her away. They spend the ride in the limo exchanging kisses, and Peko is flushed and feeling very, very human by the time they stop. (It makes being a bodyguard and a hitman a bit harder. But Peko can’t say she regrets it, not when her heart is fluttering and Natsumi gives her a rare, sweet smile.)

Natsumi is good at her job. She meets with the other clans and gives them her haughty smirk that makes them back down, blinking, as if they’d encountered a rattlesnake. She meets with corporations in boarding rooms, and wears short skirts and puts her feet on the table as she blackmails them, and Peko has never seen grown men grow so pale before. She even goes to fancy parties, arm hooked into Peko’s, and throws back cups of wine or sake all night long. Peko always feels underdressed for those events, in her practical and comfortable gear, but Natsumi stares at her the entire time anyway.

It's...strange. Life as a hitman had never appealed to Peko for any reason besides being able to ensure that Fuyuhiko was safe and taken care of. But going out with Natsumi - it was...thrilling. Fun. She felt like a date, not like a tool.

Life after Hope's Peak is  _strange_ , but it's not necessarily bad.

* * *

Natsumi spent her childhood throwing tantrums whenever Peko and Fuyuhiko went off on their own. She whined and slammed doors and complained to anyone who was around. She would tackle Fuyuhiko or Peko whenever they came back. With Fuyuhiko, he'd lose his temper and they'd start screaming at each other, both red-faced and tearing up, only to laugh together half an hour later as if nothing had happened.

Peko, on the other hand, would just avoid the tackle and then bow her head and listened to Natsumi rant, until the other girl threw her hands in the air and stormed out. Fuyuhiko would always confront her afterwards about it.

"You don't have to just take it," he'd say, "My little sister's a pain, you can just tell her to buzz off." (When he got older, he stopped saying "buzz off" and started saying something else.)

"I don't mind, young master," Peko would say, and tilt her head. "It is my duty." And then she would smile at her best friend, a joke they share. (When she got older, it stopped being a joke. And she stopped smiling.)

As the years passed, Natsumi stopped throwing tantrums. She was still vicious, still aggressive, but now she smirked and threatened, not cried. It’s then that the mutterings about her becoming the heir instead of Fuyuhiko started really gaining ground. They’ve always been around – Fuyuhiko was a sweet kid, who was prone to crying and kindness and Peko had always adored that part of him, wanted to protect it with all her might, but…some in the clan didn’t. Natsumi, on the other hand, had always been a lightning bolt about to strike. A lot of the lieutenants thought she was a way forward for the Kuzuryuu clan.

And Fuyuhiko and Peko stopped going out as much, anyway. You don't go out with a tool, you go out by yourself, and your tool follows. So he spent a lot of time with Natsumi - they went to movie theaters and argued over popcorn, went to amusement parks where Natsumi lit up in a way she never did otherwise.

Peko would trail behind them, and stare at the sunshine hitting their hair. It looked almost as if they had halos. Fuyuhiko and Natsumi would both ask for her to join, beg her even, but she couldn't - she was merely a tool, and she best served him by following behind.

And then there was Hope’s Peak. And Natsumi, who grew more bitter and brittle every day. Fuyuhiko, who pretended not to know her, and somehow they became friends all over again as classmates.

Natsumi – “I hate it, I hate it, I’m the Ultimate Little Sister, I don’t want to be _left behind_ , I want to be by his side! By your side!” – and then she kissed Peko, and her lips were scorching hot, and Peko had wound her arms around her and ran her fingers through the sunset-glow hair, and had never wanted anyone more.

Fuyuhiko – “Listen, I, uh, I don’t want you to feel obligated or some shit, and I know about you and Natsumi, but Peko – ” stammering, blushing, hands in his pockets, scuffing his foot back and forth, “You’re like, my best fucking friend, you’re _more_ , so if you ever feel anything…” And then Peko kissed him, because she was a girl, not a tool, and when he put his hand on the back of her neck, it felt like the last puzzle piece slotted into place.

Peko was still a bodyguard, a tool (in a way), a hitman who never wanted to kill anyone but had to, but…She had friends. Her classmates. She had a _bunny_. And she had two people she cared for more than anything else in the universe.

* * *

 

And life goes on.

They all grow a little older. Fuyuhiko gets more and more responsibility, until he's running the clan in all but name. Everyone's just waiting for when his father decides to retire. Natsumi goes to less shake downs, and more parties - they're going up in the world. Fuyuhiko moves the clan, slowly but surely, towards more legitimate means. Natsumi puts out a newsletter that's chock full of her photography, and while it might not be as good as the Ultimate Photographer's, it's beautiful regardless.

Peko, meanwhile, draws her sword in combat less and less. She's attending competitions again - Fuyuhiko's suggestion - and winning them the world over. She travels a lot. And while she misses both her partners, and worries over their safety, she's learning how to be alone, too. And it's...nice. One day, a cat goes up to her unprompted to be pet and fed, and she nearly tears up all over again. Her dangerous aura is receding.

She sees her friends from Hope's Peak, too, from time to time. She'd thought that perhaps, after high school, the bonds they'd made would fade, but apparently they were made of sturdier stuff. Everyone's busy with their own lives and careers, but they still find time to meet up. Even Nagito showed up now and then, although that was at least partly due to Fuyuhiko posting people to keep an eye on him. ("What? It's not that I care what happens him. It's just, who knows what that crazy bastard and his luck can do?!") The cold future she'd envisioned did not come to pass.

And there's Fuyuhiko, who looks at her warmly, as if she holds the answer to every secret in the universe, and who she's loved since she was four years old and unaware of the duties she had, only aware of the little boy beside her. And there's Natsumi, who blazes for her, touches her every chance she can get, as if Peko is something worth fighting the entire universe to get, and Peko loves her too, this girl who she watched over her entire life, even if it never were part of their duties.

It's a strange life. Sometimes a cold one. The yakuza is the yakuza, and Peko had spilled so much blood she wonders if she will ever get rid of it. She doesn't kill much anymore, but knows she will in the future, to defend the people who mean the universe to her. But it's a warm life too - her bunny, snuggling closer to her as she pets it. Fuyuhiko's warmth against her side. Natsumi's heat between her fingers. It's hard to feel fully cold, when her entire universe is warmed up by these two shining people.

And Peko smiles, something that's coming easier and easier to her. It's not despair, and it's not quite hope, but this future she's building - it's a warm one, and one full of love. And that's all she can ask for. 


End file.
